Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice

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Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
March 2019

      Small things making patients’
      lives better
      When Dr Eugenia Romboli worked as a General               The longer we have patients in our care, and the more
      Practitioner in Barcelona, she saw a lot of patients      specialised we become, the more need we have for
      with symptoms that were not being resolved.               medications and medical supplies such as dressings,
      Motivated by the wish to relieve people’s suffering,      syringes and batteries for pain pumps. These items
      she specialised in palliative medicine and is now         alone cost Hospice over $2,000 a week.
      Harbour Hospice’s Medical Leader.
                                                                By helping Hospice buy essential medical
      Thanks to your ongoing generosity in helping to           supplies, you can help patients in your local
      bridge the gap between health board funding and           community to live every moment with dignity,
      the cost of providing palliative care, Harbour Hospice    compassion and comfort.
      is well resourced with six doctors on staff.
                                                                Please consider making a gift today so we can
      “We are very aware that we are not curing patients,       continue giving our patients the best care possible.
      but the small things we do can help make life better,”
      Eugenia says. “We try to ease the journey for our         Our doctors support patients in the North Shore
      patients so they can concentrate on their important       inpatient unit, at home, and even in North Shore
      things.”                                                  Hospital, reinforcing the palliative care provided by
                                                                the hospital’s doctors. Working as a tight-knit team,
      As medical treatments improve, patients are living        our doctors ensure they all know what is going on
      longer with life-limiting illnesses and we are pleased    with every patient, to ensure their patients’ care is as
      to say that many are seeking hospice care earlier.        seamless and personal as possible.

You are part of this caring North Shore community. Volunteer, donor, bequestor, staff member, brave story-teller. Thank you.
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
Harbour Hospice                          Jan Nichols
 wraparound care on
 the North Shore                          Caring for your growing
 July 2017 to June 2018
                                          community at home
 Last year you supported
 Harbour Hospice to provide care          and in Hospice
 to 711 patients in the North
 Shore community.                         2018 was a monumental year which saw the creation of the
                                          Harbour Hospice Trust to serve the communities of North
 So far this year referral numbers        Shore, Hibiscus Coast and Warkworth Wellsford.
 have increased by 9%.
                                          The merger of Hibiscus services with North Shore and
                                          Warkworth Wellsford has been an enormous undertaking and
                                          I want to thank you for your continued support as we have
                                          refined roles within the new organisation, introduced new
                                          services and moved shops. All while continuing our everyday
                                          mission of providing skilled and compassionate care to more and

            711
                                          more people in our local communities.

                                          Over the last six months, referrals to Harbour Hospice
   PAT I E N T S / FA M I L I E S
           supported                      have increased by close to 9%. This means, with your
                                          continued support, we are on track to care for more
                                          than 1200 people this year across the region.

      21%
                                          One patient may receive care from several of our teams as we
                                          support their medical, practical, emotional, social and spiritual
                                          needs. Many of our patients are troubled by complex symptoms,
                                    71%   especially in the early stages of their diagnosis, and benefit
                                          enormously from the expertise of our doctors. I am very pleased
                                          that we are profiling our Medical Leader, Dr Eugenia Romboli, in
                                          this edition of Hospice Matters.

                                          Specialist palliative care doctors are becoming a rare breed and
       Cancer Diagnosis                   we are fortunate that those on our team are not only highly
                                          skilled, but are also deeply compassionate and committed to the
       Non-Cancer Diagnosis
                                          comfort and wellbeing of our patients.

                                          As Eugenia says, our doctors try to ease the journey for
                                          our patients so they can concentrate on the things that are
                                26%
                                          important to them.

                                          Thank you for your commitment to supporting the work of our
54%                                       doctors and helping people in your community enjoy more
                                          moments free of pain and other troubling symptoms.

                              20%                                    Yours sincerely

       Aged 65 years and under
       Aged 66-74 years
                                                                     Jan Nichols
       Aged 75 and over                                              Chief Executive

  Your Hospice Matters Harbour Hospice 2
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
Continued from page 1

“We are there for patients with complex, specialty
needs and we have patients very early in their
diagnoses who can have quite a lot of symptoms,”
Eugenia says. “We become their guide for what to
do, and we help them understand what is happening
and why the complications affect them.”

Eugenia says the doctors must be flexible enough
to change their day’s schedule so they can
spend more time with a patient who is facing
complications or needs emotional support.
                                                        We are there
A doctor may also arrange an urgent appointment
                                                         for patients
with an occupational therapist, dietician or other
specialist to provide whatever treatment is most
                                                        with complex,
effective in managing symptoms such as pain,           specialty needs.
nausea and shortness of breath, seizures and
difficulty with swallowing. Whatever therapy they
advise, the doctors try to ensure that transitions
between services are streamlined and that their
primary care team is kept informed.

“Sometimes our intervention is only for a moment,
but if that means someone has a good week, then
we’ve done our job,” Eugenia says.

You bought new recliners!
Last November we asked you to help us buy new         Glenn asked for your help to buy 12 new recliners
recliner armchairs for the North Shore inpatient      to replace our worn-out armchairs, and your big-
unit.                                                 hearted response amounted to more than $52,000
                                                      in donations. Thanks to you we can now start
                   Our patient Glenn Griffin, who     replacing the old, flaking armchairs with extra-wide,
                      spent time in the unit so the   soft and cosy recliners that are easy to get in and
                         doctors and nurses could     out of, and continue to be able to care for patients
                           bring his pain under       staying in the North Shore inpatient unit.
                             control, told you how
                              good it felt to get     Glenn’s wife Debbie says Glenn was extremely
                               out of bed and in a    private and his willingness to share his story showed
                               comfortable chair      how keenly he wanted to repay the care and
                               with no pressure       compassion he received from Hospice.
                               points. Sadly,
                               Glenn passed           “Glenn would have been over the moon to know
                                  away not long       that people gave so much, and so proud that he
                                    after he and      was able to help.”
                                     his family so
            Thank you for             generously      Thank you for caring and for giving many people like
           your big-hearted           shared their    Glenn and his family the comfort and relief of a soft,
              response!              story.           cosy armchair for years to come.
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
Staff at Rapid Labels love sharing the                                               Harbour Hospice CEO Jan Nichols and the
Christmas spirit with Hospice.                                                       Farmers team. Funds raised in Hibiscus
                                                                                     Coast and North Shore will be used for
                                                                                     hospice services in the community in
Rapid Labels’                                                                        which they were given.
culture of caring /

Few of us would choose to spend
                                                                                     Trees of Remembrance /
Christmas Day in the Hospice               Front UP /                                Every year you give to the Hospice
Inpatient Unit rather than our own
                                                                                     Trees of Remembrance and support
home, but sometimes there is no            The Front UP for Hospice challenge,
                                                                                     people in your community for whom
choice. That is why we are so grateful     completed in November, brought out
                                                                                     a life-limiting illness does not take a
to the kind people at Rapid Labels,        North Shore’s inner exhibitionists
                                                                                     break for Christmas.
who sponsor the annual Christmas           to raise $39,000 for palliative care
lunch for patients, families and staff     services in your community.
                                                                                     In 2018 you opened your hearts and
in the North Shore IPU.
                                                                                     gave $71,500 towards palliative care
                                           Harbour Hospice partnered with
                                                                                     for Harbour Hospice patients in the
Since 2004, the company has made           Harcourts Cooper and Co to present
                                                                                     North Shore community.
a donation to Hospice in lieu of           this fun, amazing-race styled event
Christmas gifts to their clients and       for the third year running. Front UP
                                                                                     The teams at Farmers stores on the
suppliers. Rapid Labels’ donations         involves groups competing over
                                                                                     North Shore inspired customers to
over 15 years add up to tens of            several months for the title of best
                                                                                     give $49,000, either as donations
thousands of dollars, but more             fundraiser, followed by a day of crazy
                                                                                     or by purchasing Hospice Christmas
importantly, they have given our           challenges in secret locations across
                                                                                     Baubles. The full $10 of every bauble
patients the priceless gift of knowing     the North Shore.
                                                                                     purchase went directly to the store’s
their community cares.
                                                                                     local hospice, ensuring funds stayed
                                           Many thanks to our brilliant event
                                                                                     in your community.
Operations manager at Rapid Labels,        partners Harcourts Cooper & Co and
Deb Hannon, says the staff are avid        sponsors: Vodafone New Zealand,
                                                                                     At Trees of Remembrance in other
supporters of Hospice’s work and           Smales Farm, Auckland Transport
                                                                                     sites around the North Shore
helping the community goes hand in         (e-cars), Big Street Bikers, The Better
                                                                                     community, shoppers donated over
hand with the company culture. “We         NZ Trust - Leading The Charge,
                                                                                     $22,000.
value the service Hospice offers, in       More FM Auckland 91.8, Cube, Mitre
particular the end of life care, and we    10 Mega Glenfield, Resene Colour
                                                                                     We are deeply grateful to the
believe it is important to support such    Shop, Ecostore and Columbus Coffee
                                                                                     volunteers who gave their valuable
a great cause,” she says.                  Smales Farm.
                                                                                     time to staff the trees; to the Farmers
                                                                                     teams at Albany Home, Albany,
NEW Entertainment Books out now /                                                    Glenfield and Takapuna (North
                                                                                     Shore) and Silverdale (Hibiscus); and
Enjoy 2-for-1 and up to 50% off offers, and deals for travel, hotel accommodation,   to staff and management at Albany
family activities and much more. Plus, 20% of proceeds from every membership         Westfield, Countdown Barry’s Point,
sold goes towards supporting Harbour Hospice patients and their families.            Devonport Ferry Terminal, Glenfield
For pre-orders visit www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/9647z5. Or from          Mall, Milford Shopping Centre,
8th April, pay and collect your book at any of our 16 Harbour Hospice Shops.         PAK’nSAVE Albany, Smales Farm and
Visit www.harbourhospice.org.nz for shop locations.                                  Takapuna Library.

Your Hospice Matters Harbour Hospice 4
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
Trusts’ generosity keeps lights on
Many thanks to the Charitable Trusts that play a vital   Charitable Trust funded syringe drivers for effective
role in helping meet the challenging funding shortfall   pain management.
we face every year. Many of these Trusts have been       Four Winds Foundation helped our clinical team
supporting Hospice for decades.                          train other health professionals to provide excellent
                                                         palliative care in the community.
Special thanks to the following featured Trust           Constellation Communities Trust supported strong
partnerships - The David Levene Foundation, Pub          leadership for our nursing team.
Charity Limited, The Lion Foundation and The             Ara Lodge No. 348 Irish Constitution helped us
Ted and Mollie Carr Endowment Trust & Estate of          support patients who face financial hardship.
Ernest Hyam Davis. Their continuing generosity           North Shore Presbyterian Hospital Trust
has aided the comfort of thousands of patients and       supported spiritual care for patients and families.
their families over the years.                           Milestone Foundation helped us provide nursing
                                                         care in the North Shore Inpatient Unit.
And thank you to our most recent grant funders:          New Zealand Community Trust contributed to our
Pub Charity Limited gave $200,000 and                    volunteer support services.
The Lion Foundation gave $50,000, to fund                Hasbro funded an ipad and toys for children who are
essential operating costs.                               patients or part of the families in our care.
Estate of Ernest Hyam Davis & Ted and Mollie Carr        Charles Rupert Stead Trust paid for a laptop to keep
Endowment Trust gave $30,000 to pay the lease on         our educators connected.
the Ellice Road Shop, so more shop income could go       Dragon Community Trust and BlueSky Community
directly towards patient care.                           Trust strengthened our support for Asian patients
Lottery Community Fund supported our counselling         and families, and for grieving families.
services.                                                A K Franks Charitable Trust funded dictaphones for
North and South Trust and Maurice Paykel                 our life review volunteers.

Amelie shows her gratitude with scrunchies
Browns Bay schoolgirl Amelie Wells has given hair        Amelie first offered the scrunchies to fellow students
ties a new twist, making and selling fabric scrunchies   at Bays School of Dance for a gold coin donation.
to fundraise for her local hospice service.              They proved so popular that she soon started
                                                         charging two dollars each, and now sells them at
In one school term, the 11-year-old’s sewing and         Pinehurst School. At the last sale she had to resort to
entrepreneurial skills raised over $600 for Harbour      taking orders from eager shoppers.
Hospice services in the North Shore community.

Five years ago, when Amelie was six and her
sister Tilly four, Hospice took care of their father
and Amelie has always wanted to say thank you.

“Hospice is a wonderful charity and they supported
                                                                                                 Amelie raised
my family and looked after my Dad when he was
                                                                                                   over $600
sick,” says Amelie. “I have my own sewing machine
                                                                                                  for Harbour
so decided to put my sewing skills to good use.”                                                    Hospice

It’s a family affair as Tilly and Grandma Jane help
with cutting, and Mum Sarah hand sews the
scrunchies closed. Sarah says she also picks out the
fabric for Amelie because “if she was let loose in the
material shop she’d buy the whole store”.
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
Hospice Awareness Week May 2019
You can help us to help others by lending a hand
to raise valuable funds and awareness for Harbour
Hospice.

Suzanne McFadden has been a regular Hospice
Cuppa host and her gatherings have involved many
of the women in her Whenuapai neighbourhood.

About 60 attended Suzanne’s Whenuapai High Tea for
Hospice; aged from 8 to 80, the guests included three
                                                          13-19th
                                                               M A Y
sets of grandmother, mother and daughter. A raffle
and a fun quiz about women, beautiful food and great
company, and a fantastic fundraising total of $1370 for
Hospice definitely add up to a successful Cuppa!          friends, family or colleagues together to enjoy a
                                                          ‘comforting cuppa’. We have a fantastic FREE pack
Here are a few ways you can show your support this        we can send you to help with your fundraising.
Awareness Week:                                           - ‘Add a Dollar‘ at the checkout when shopping at
- Spare a couple of hours to ‘shake a bucket’ for your    your favourite local supermarket.
local Hospice. We are aiming to have more collectors
than ever before, so please keep an eye out for them      To register your support or to receive your
and give generously.                                      free Hospice Cuppa pack contact Jenna Tuuta
- Host a Hospice Cuppa. A great excuse to bring           on 09 486 1688 today.

Charity tournament on the Rolls Royce
of golf courses
The North Shore Golf Tournament has been a fixture        Previously organised by enthusiastic golfers, notably
on the local golf calendar for 20 years, and some         Neil Crawford and the late Ross Finlayson, then by
golfers have never missed a year.                         the Milford Rotary Club, the tournament is now run
                                                          by Harbour Hospice. All proceeds support the care of
This year the tournament will be held on Thursday         people in the North Shore community who are living
April 4 at the North Shore Golf Club in Albany,           with a life-limiting illness.
with teams of four teeing off at 12.30pm in either
Stableford or Ambrose competition, therefore allowing     Fundraising Coordinator Jenna Tuuta says the 27-
the tournament to cater to golfers of all abilities.      hole North Shore Golf Club is the ‘Rolls Royce’ of
                                                          golf courses and Hospice is grateful for the use of
                                                          such a stunning venue. With Kiwibank Business
                                                          Banking as a major sponsor, award-winning

                                       4th
                                                          tournament organiser PaR n.z. managing the event
                                                          and Golf Warehouse providing the prize table, there
                                      A P R I L           is plenty to look forward to.

                                                          Don’t miss out on this special day. Register your
                                                          team now at www.parnz.co.nz/tournaments/
                                                          or, for more information, contact Nanette on
                                                          021 639 649 or nsevents@harbourhospice.org.nz

Your Hospice Matters Harbour Hospice 6
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
A gift in your will
provides Hospice care
beyond your lifetime
When Lesley Ingham updated her will last year,
she included a gift to Harbour Hospice, knowing
first-hand the impact her bequest could have.
                                                             “We wouldn’t
Lesley recently celebrated nine years working as              have had the
a fundraiser for Hospice, and says she is happy           confidence to look
knowing her future gift will help ensure the service is   after Mum without
available for her children and grandchildren.              Hospice’s help.”

Lesley says she saw the difference Hospice could
make 14 years ago, when her mother, Pat, was dying                              they would approve of her
of congestive heart failure.                                               leaving a gift to Hospice, which
                                                          gave such compassionate care to both their maternal
“Mum was in hospital and she was moved into a             and paternal grandmothers.
private room, which she called the waiting room,”
Lesley says. “She had such a strong faith that she        Some people, like Lesley, make a Gift in Will because
wasn’t afraid of dying, but she desperately wanted to     they have been personally touched by Hospice
be at home.”                                              and they want to give back, others because they
                                                          have seen the difference Hospice makes in their
With support from Hospice, Pat was able to return         community.
to the comfort of her own home, with her family and
familiar things around her.                               Contact us for more information, including the impact
                                                          your gift could make. There is no obligation and all
Lesley says: “We wouldn’t have had the confidence         enquiries are treated in the strictest confidence. We
to look after Mum without Hospice’s help. The nurses      cannot provide legal or financial advice but we would
came and went, and without any fuss they took care        be happy to hear from you, answer questions and
of the medical details so we could just be with Mum.”     provide you with further information.

Lesley says her four children and their families are      Call Planned Giving Coordinator Jo Eve on
the main beneficiaries of her will and she thinks         486 1688 or email jo.eve@harbourhospice.org.nz

Tax deduction rewards your generosity
Nobody understands the importance of time more            by ensuring Hospice can continue providing
than someone who is nearing the end of life. Time         compassionate care; and it will benefit you by taking
is also important if you are considering a donation       advantage of available tax credits.
to Harbour Hospice, as the end of the financial
year is approaching and time is running out on tax        As the need for palliative care increases in your
deductible donations.                                     community, we will help more and more people by
                                                          providing respite care in the safe and welcoming
As an individual you can claim a 33.33% tax credit        environment of a Hospice Inpatient Unit – but we
for all donations over $5 you make to an approved         need your help to make this possible.
donee such as Harbour Hospice*. A tax credit
reduces the amount of tax you have to pay. Your           * Please contact your tax advisor or accountant for
donation today will benefit people in your community      more information.

Your Hospice Matters Harbour Hospice 7
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
The longer we have patients in our
care, the more medical supplies
we need to provide relief from
troubling symptoms. Will you help
us provide this relief?

As doctors working in palliative care, we are very
aware of the privilege of being with someone during
this stage of their life and deeply grateful to you for
giving so generously to support our work.
                                                                        Complex symptoms
We are pleased that more patients are seeking care                     need costly medicines
from Harbour Hospice earlier in their diagnosis, as                    and medical supplies.
this means we can do more to help them manage                         Can you help us buy the
symptoms, such as pain that prevents them from                        supplies we need to give
sleeping, or shortness of breath that stops them                        our patients the best
enjoying simple activities.                                                care possible?

However, the longer we have patients in our care,
the more medicines and medical supplies we need
to provide relief from these troubling symptoms.
Essential items such as medications, dressings,                 Thank you for so generously supporting our work,
syringes and batteries cost Harbour Hospice more
than $2,000 a week.

Will you help us buy the medications and supplies
our patients need to give them relief from pain                 Dr Eugenia Romboli
and other troubling symptoms?                                   Harbour Hospice Medical Leader

P.S. Last year North Shore Hospice was renamed, and is now called Harbour Hospice. However the same Hospice
services still provide care and relief as before. Your gift today will directly benefit patients in your local community.

Will you help us buy the medications and                        Please accept my donation of:

supplies our patients need to give them relief                    $

from pain and other troubling symptoms?                         Post this form to:
                                                                Harbour Hospice North Shore, PO Box 331129, Takapuna 0740
                                                                                                                             NS NEW0319

  Name:                                                           I wish to make my payment by:
                                                                      Cheque (enclosed)      Credit card (see below)
  Address:
                                                                                                                             Charities Services #CC22413

                                                                  Card no:

                                                                  Cardholder’s name:

                                                                  Card expiry date:
  Phone:                                                          Signature:
  Email:

                                                                  Other ways to donate:
                                                                  Phone: North Shore (09) 486 1688
Please send me information about:                                 Online: Safely and securely at www.harbourhospice.org.nz
   Joining our Friends of Hospice Club through monthly giving     Gifts $5 and over are tax deductible.
   Including Hospice in my Will

Your Hospice Matters Harbour Hospice 8
Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice Small things making patients' lives better - Harbour Hospice
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